Caught in the Middle
by Deana
Summary: Hostage negotiator Frank becomes a hostage himself, in a bank robbery attempt by a criminal that has a grudge against him. Takes place after, 'Mystery of the Mind'.
1. Should've Used the DriveThrough

Caught in the Middle

A UC: Undercover story

By Deana Lisi

Disclaimer: I do not own Frank Donovan, *sigh* or any other UC characters, but the original characters are mine.

A HUGE thank you to my friend Karri, who supplied me with the character's last names and the story's title, (I had a hard time thinking one up, lol) and for some great ideas when I got writers block! You rule! 

Frank Donovan sighed. He hated long lines at the bank, and today's was even longer then usual. 

He took out his cell phone, and dialed.

"Tony's Pizza," he heard. "Home to any topping your little heart desires."

Frank smiled, despite himself. Cody came up with a new line every day.

"Cody, it's Frank. I'm at the bank, the line is a mile long."

Cody nodded, as he played with one of the HQ computers. " 'kay, boss. No prob."

"I'll be there soon," Frank told him, and hung up. As he put the phone away, he saw that the line hadn't advanced at all. He crossed his arms, with another sigh.

********************

"What was that all about?"

Cody looked up as Alex walked over. "It was Frank, he's stuck in line at the bank."

"Oh." Alex peeked at the computer screen, and made a face. "Solitaire? You have the best computer in the world, and you play _Solitaire_?" 

Cody shrugged. 

Monica and Jake came in then, at the same time. Monica had a huge smile on her face, and Jake was laughing at something she must've said.

"What's up guys?" Cody asked.

"I had a _wonderful_ date last night," Monica said, dreamily.

"No way!"

Alex punched Cody in the arm. "That's great! Is he cute?" she asked.

Monica smiled. "Oh, _yes_."

Alex smiled back.

"Where's Frank?" Jake asked, noting his absence.

"Stuck in line at the bank," said Cody. "He said he'll be here soon." He paused. "Aww, crap!" 

"What's the matter?" Monica asked.

"I have no more good cards."

Monica walked closer and saw the game on the screen. "You can't beat _solitaire_?!"

"Not this one! And _you_ can? The one that I just told you has no good cards left?"

"Move over," Monica said, pushing Cody's chair out of the way, ignoring Cody's look of shock at how far he flew.

Alex and Jake smiled, finding it amusing.

As he scooted his chair back over, Cody watched in disbelief as Monica not only found the next necessary card, but then proceeded to finish the game for him.

********************

Frank couldn't believe how slow the line was going. Having nothing to do but look around, he unconsciously started studying people. The bank line went around a corner and in front of him, so he was able to see the customer's profiles. _That guy likes to rip people off,_ he thought, noting the seedy expression the man wore. He looked at the next one. _That guy's a mechanic_, he thought, _and not a very good one. Don't bring any cars to him_. The next one was a woman. _Married,_ he thought. He couldn't take credit for that one, as her wedding ring was obvious. _With kids, _he noticed, seeing the Pokemon character hanging from her keychain. One by one he figured out the character of each person, except for the man in front of him, for he naturally couldn't see his face. _Monica would be proud,_ he thought. Suddenly he saw that the man in front of him was next, and then it would be his turn. _Finally!_ he thought. As he started to take his wallet out of his pocket, a voice suddenly resonated through the bank.

"THIS IS A HOLDUP! EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR!"

Frank had his gun out before anyone even had a chance to move. "Federal Agent!" he yelled, pointing it at the man.

Suddenly he was pushed from behind, and lost his grip on the gun. Someone grabbed him and spun him around before he had a chance to regain his balance, and he tried to punch the man, but only managed a glancing blow. Unfortunately, his opponent had a better weapon then mere fists.

Frank gasped as an intense, razor-sharp pain sliced into the left side of his midsection.

The man stood there, grinning—the very man who'd been in front of Frank in line—as he held the hilt of the knife. He laughed and savagely twisted it, then yanked it out.

Frank cried out in pain, and fell to the floor, dimly hearing the screams of terror from the bank's employees and customers. 

The man started laughing louder, and held the knife in the air, blood all over his hand and dripping onto the floor. 

"Everyone on the ground _now_!" he yelled.

The people all but threw themselves down, in panic.

The man started walking to his partner, stepping over the gasping Frank, who was curled on his side clutching his stomach; a pool of blood quickly forming beneath him.

The partner stared at his friend, in shock, as he picked up Frank's gun. "Artie, you—you _stabbed_ him…"

Artie didn't answer, tucking the gun into his waistband as he went over to the bank doors, and locked them. He turned around, smiling at the havoc he'd already wreaked. 

His partner just stared at him, looking as terrified as the hostages. 

"What are you looking at, Jay?" The apparent madman said. "Put all the people over there in the corner."

"Wha—what about the other guy?" Jay asked. 

"I'll deal with him."

Jay didn't like the sound of that. "Artie! Don't do anything st-stupid! We don't wanna be cop killers!"

Artie walked over to Frank, noting with pleasure that the man was already pale. He knelt next to him, and pushed him onto his back.

Frank gasped, groaning in pain at the unexpected movement.

"Federal Agent, huh?" Artie sneered. "Where's your badge?" He stuck his hand in Frank's jacket, and found it. Opening it, his face registered astonishment. "Frank Donovan?"

Jay's heart started beating faster at the tone in Artie's voice. _He's gonna kill the guy, he's gonna kill him…_

"Frank Donovan?!" Artie repeated. Without warning, he suddenly punched Frank in the face. Then he smiled, and stood.

"We have Frank Donovan!" he yelled to Jay.

_We? _he thought. _I never wanted to hurt anyone! He's gone insane! _"Who's that?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Frank Donovan," Artie said again, as if Jay hadn't heard him say his name three times already. "This is the man that put away Tommy!"

Jay frowned. "He did?"

"Yeah." Artie stood again. "We can _use_ this!" 

Jay was almost afraid to ask, "How?"

"He's gonna be our bargaining tool!"


	2. The Negotiations Begin

"Must be _some_ line."

"What?" 

"The bank," Jake said, to Cody.

"Oh," Cody looked up from his twelfth Solitaire game. Noticing the time, he said, "Yeah, one heck of a line."

Suddenly Jake's cell phone rang, and he answered it. "Hello."

Cody paid no attention, until Jake jumped to his feet. "WHAT?!"

Alex and Monica, talking about Monica's new boyfriend, heard him and came over.

"We'll be right there," Jake said, hanging up. He grabbed his jacket, as he said, "Frank is a hostage in a robbery at the bank he went to!"

"What?!" they all said.

"We have to hurry, they said he's hurt."

Everyone grabbed their coats and ran out the door.

********************

_This is it; I'm dead,_ Frank thought. He knew how hostage situations went in bank robberies, and from what his hazy mind was able to take in from what went on around him, he knew he would bleed to death before the situation was resolved. 

He gasped as a wave of pain shot through him and closed his eyes as he clutched the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. He tried to get a look at the injury, to see how bad it was, but it was so agonizing that he couldn't even move. The man had twisted the knife, and he knew there had to be some serious damage.

Suddenly he heard voices, realized they were coming from the outside. Police, with bullhorns. _You're wasting your time,_ he thought. 

"Jay!" he suddenly heard. "Make sure the hostages stay where they are, and drag Donovan over there."

Jay frowned. He knew that moving Frank could be very dangerous. 

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

Jay sighed, as he went over to Frank. "I'm sorry, man," he said, grabbing him under the arms as gently as he could. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

Frank had to bite his lip, dazedly watching the trail of blood he was making as Jay dragged him over to the group.

"Stop right there," said Artie.

Jay stopped, about 8 feet from the group. 

"We wouldn't want any hostages risking their lives to save him, now would we?" Artie said, with a sneer.

Jay sighed, and lowered Frank down gently. He took out his handkerchief and knelt beside him, trying to press it to the wound without hurting Frank too much.

"What are you doing?" Artie demanded.

"Trying to stop the bleeding. We can't use him if he's dead!" Jay hated phrasing it that way, but he knew it was the only way Artie would allow him to try to help.

Artie seemed to think about that for a minute. "Yeah, okay." 

Suddenly the phone in the bank started to ring, and they ignored it. It continued, however, for so long that they realized it was the police who were calling, obviously intending to negotiate.

Artie picked it up, and barked, "What?" 

"This is Chief Morgan of the Chicago Police Dept. The bank is surrounded, let the hostages go and give yourselves up."

Artie started laughing.

Jay looked up from where he was still holding his handkerchief to Frank's wound—realizing that it was completely soaked with blood already—and looked at Artie, wondering what was going on.

"I ain't givin' up nobody," Artie said. "Least of all, Frank Donovan! I just might let him die on the floor!" He laughed again, and slammed the phone down.

********************

Jake flew into the bank parking lot, and screeched to a stop. They all jumped out and ran over to the herd of policemen. Two of them tried to block their path.

"Hey! Get back!"

"No! Let them through!"

Jake pushed past the two cops and followed the voice of his friend. "Jimmy!" he called. 

Another policeman ran over to them. "Jake! Morgan's over there," he said, pointing.

"Thanks," Jake said, starting to walk in that direction.

Alex, Monica, and Cody wondered who Jake's cop friend was, as they watched him run back to his position.

They all followed Jake to the Chicago PD's chief, who was standing there with a bullhorn.

"Chief Morgan," Jake said, the UC team having worked with him before. "Frank is in there?"

The chief nodded. "Yeah, the thief volunteered that info."

"How do you know he's hurt?" Alex asked.

"Do you know how bad?" asked Monica.

The chief shook his head. "No. The man said he'd let Frank die on the floor, and that he'd be the _last_ person he'd let go. So we're assuming Frank's hurt, and this psycho has some kind of grudge against him."

"Do you know his name?" Cody asked, hoping he did so he could look the guy up and see what connection Frank had to him. 

Morgan shook his head.

Jake sighed. "So what are his demands?"

Morgan shrugged. "He didn't tell us yet."

Jake picked up the phone the police had tied into the bank's line, and dialed the number that was next to it on the cruiser's hood, written on a piece of paper.

Alex, Monica, and Cody all watched apprehensively, knowing Jake was no negotiator. 

Artie picked up after the fourth ring. "What?"

"What do you want in exchange for the hostages?" Jake asked, not bothering to identify himself.

Artie frowned. "Who're you?"

"Jake," he said, leaving out his last name. "Look, we know you have a wounded man in there, why don't you let him and the hostages go, and we'll give you what you want."

Artie laughed. "I ain't letting out the wounded—or should I say _dying_—Frank Donovan. You aren't getting him back, even if I let the others out!" He hung up again, laughing gleefully, enjoying the game.

The others saw Jake suddenly turn pale, and nearly drop the phone. They all ran over to him.

"What is it?!" Alex said, afraid of the answer.

"He said that Frank…is _dying_."

They all just stood there, stunned. 

"No…" Alex whispered.

"Maybe…maybe he lied, to scare us?" Cody said, hopefully.

"Monica?" Alex asked.

Monica shook her head. "It's possible…I wouldn't put it past a sicko like him."

Jake gave a huge sigh. He picked up the phone again, and dialed. When he heard it picked up, he spoke before Artie had the chance. "Who are you? What is it that you want?

"Revenge," Artie said. "Sweet revenge."

"What do you want for the hostages—_and _Frank?"

Artie paused, thinking. "Transportation out of here, _alive_, and with my newly acquired wealth."

Jake sighed. He'd seen that coming.


	3. MONEY Belongs in the Vault, not People!

Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone! They mean a lot to me! 

With Artie on the phone, Jay took the opportunity to try to stop Frank's bleeding again. It hadn't worked earlier, and Artie had forced him to give up, not caring if he died. 

Jay knelt next to Frank, noting the complete absence of color in his face. "Hey cop," he whispered, nervously. "You still alive?"

Frank heard the voice as if from far away, his half-conscious brain not understanding the words.

Jay felt for a pulse, and found it. He sighed in relief, and looked to the hostages huddled a short distance away. "Anyone got anything I can use to stop his bleeding with?"

They all just stared at him, scared to death. Realizing he truly meant them no harm, a couple of the men threw him their shirts. 

Jay was glad to see that both hostages had other shirts underneath the ones they'd so unselfishly given up. Now Artie wouldn't know which of the hostages had tried to help Frank, and hopefully none of them would suffer for it. 

Jay looked behind himself to see Artie still on the phone, his back to them. He held the shirts to Frank's wound, not knowing if Frank's silence was a good or bad thing. He suddenly realized that he didn't see Frank's chest rising and falling with breath. _Oh no…_he felt for a pulse again, and almost didn't find one. He felt it suddenly, beating slowly, faintly. He sighed. _This guy ain't gonna make it, there's no way._ He tried to stop himself from being upset by it, instead trying to remember that this man was responsible for putting his and Artie's good friend in jail. 

He suddenly jumped when Frank groaned softly, and opened his eyes slightly. He stared at Jay for a minute, trying to figure out who he was, realizing that he was the one who had attempted to rob the bank. Who was the man who'd stabbed him? Frank couldn't remember, only knowing that it wasn't this man. 

Suddenly Artie started yelling, still on the phone. Frank listened to the threats Artie was making on his life, and he looked at Jay.

Jay could see the question on his face. "He has a grudge against you for putting someone he knows away." He said it bitterly, angry himself.

Frank tried to speak. "Who…"

"Tommy Zelano."

Frank tried to remember the name, but he could feel his consciousness slipping. It suddenly popped into his head, surprising him. "The drug dealer."

Jay shrugged. "Yeah."

"He was…selling to…kids…" Frank said, gasping when a wave of pain shot through him. "One kid died…..what I did…saved lives…_kids_ lives…" His eyes closed and he went limp.

Jay thought for a moment that he'd died, and after what he'd just heard, he felt a wave of regret. The blood continued to flow from the wound, however, and Jay found a pulse still beating, but he had to practically dig his fingers into Frank's skin to find it. 

Suddenly Jay heard a slam, and turned to see that Artie had gotten off the phone. He started to walk over, and Jay stood up, trying to block Artie's view of the hostages' shirts over Frank's wound. 

Artie walked right over, and looked down at Frank. "He dead yet?"

His callous tone made Jay angry. "No."

Artie shrugged. "Oh well."

"Artie!" Jay called out, as he started to walk away.

"What?" Artie threw over his shoulder.

"What's going on now?"

Artie turned around then, and smiled, looking deranged. "I asked for a chopper!"

********************

"He wants a chopper."

They all looked at Jake as he put the phone down. 

"And he actually thinks he gonna get one?" Cody said.

Jake shrugged. "I don't care _what_ he thinks, I told him we'd get him one just so he'd let Frank and the others go."

"We'd better get one down here then," Chief Morgan said. "To make him think we're holding to our word." He ran over to some of his men, to give them orders.

"Did he say anything about Frank?" Alex asked, anxiously.

Jake sighed, leaning on the police cruiser. "No, he ignored the questions. Still won't tell me his name either."

"Why don't we try to use our wire camera?" Cody suggested. "Then we can get a pic of him and put it through the FBI database."

Jake nodded. "Good idea, do it."

Cody gave him a sheepish look. "It's at HQ, it only came yesterday, and I didn't put it in the van yet."

Everyone groaned.

"Go get it then," said Jake.

Cody nodded, and ran off. 

"I hope Cody drives as fast as he types," Alex remarked, without humor.

********************

Inside the bank, all was quiet, except for the occasional sniffing coming from the group of terrified hostages.

Artie was pacing, occasionally talking to himself.

Jay was still trying to stop Frank's bleeding. He'd managed to get it to slow, but it still wouldn't stop. The shirts that the two hostages had given him were completely soaked through, and he was now using one given to him by another man. Frank's pulse seemed even weaker now, and his skin was very cold.

"Where _is_ it?!" Artie suddenly exploded.

Jay jumped, startled at the abrupt outburst. "What? The chopper?" 

Artie nodded.

Jay shrugged. "I guess it takes time, to fly it here."

Artie sighed, muttering under his breath, as he continued to pace.

********************

Cody had parked the van next to the chief's cruiser, and was anxiously watching the computer screen as he waited for the SWAT men to place the camera. 

The rest of the team stood over his shoulder. All they saw so far was the wall of the bank, as the SWAT member looked for a crack or opening to stick the tiny camera through. 

Suddenly the picture started shaking around, as the camera was being forced in. When it stopped, they could see a man pacing, and a few people sitting on the floor, part of a group that they could not see the rest of. 

There was no sign of Frank.

Using the computer, Cody moved the camera around at every angle he could, but still couldn't find their boss.

They all made noises of disappointment, at missing the chance to see their leader's condition. 

Cody pointed the camera back at the pacing man, zoomed in, and snapped a few pictures of him, at different angles as he paced.

"The guy's giving us some great shots," he said, with a laugh. 

"Does he look familiar to anyone?" Jake asked.

They all shook their heads. 

Suddenly the man stopped pacing, and started talking to someone they couldn't see. He turned in their direction, and it seemed like he looked straight at the camera. 

"Oh yeah, man, great pose," said Cody, snapping away.

Suddenly the man started walking towards it, taking out his gun.

"Uh oh," said Cody.

********************

"What the—? Jay, drag Donovan over here!"

Jay looked up, in surprise. "What?"

"Do it! NOW!"

Jay looked at Frank, in despair, and sighed. Artie's mind had apparently snapped this day, and Jay was afraid he'd kill him if he didn't obey. _How did I ever get into this?_ he thought, as he grabbed the unconscious Federal Agent under his arms, and carefully complied. 

********************

 "Frank!"

The team all watched as a man dragged Frank over to where the other man was still standing. The phone was in reach, and the man grabbed it, and quickly dialed. 

Chief Morgan picked up the phone when it rang, and Artie's voice screamed in his ear. 

"Nice camera! You just signed Donovan's death warrant! Before this ends, I'm gonna kill him right in front of you!" 

Morgan's mouth dropped, but before he could say anything, Artie hung up.

The team watched in stunned silence as Artie yelled into the phone, pointing his gun at Frank's head. Then he slammed the phone down, pointed the gun—Franks's gun, they realized—and shot the camera. To their utter shock, it shattered.

"$3,500, down the drain!" Cody wailed. He realized a minute later how that sounded, and he made a face as if to say, 'opps.'

Alex was speechless, not able to speak for a minute, after what she'd just seen. 

Monica swallowed hard. "Guys…I don't think Frank's gonna make it out of this one."

Jake slammed his fist on the computer table. "No! This jerk is NOT gonna get away with this! Cody, send those pictures to the FBI! The minute anything comes back, I wanna know."

Cody nodded, looking like he agreed with Monica.

********************

The hostages screamed when the gun went off, and Jay jumped a mile, himself.

"What was that for?" Jay asked, not having seen the camera, though it was more obvious then the SWAT team knew; the camera being black, the walls being white.

Artie walked over and grabbed it, bringing it over to Jay. "Now they know who we are."

Jay paled. 

"Throw the people in the vault."

Jay blinked. "What?"

"I said; put the hostages in the vault! What are you, deaf?"

Knowing better then to argue, Jay went over to the hostages and motioned for them to get up and walk. He forced them into the vault, trying to shut out their cries of fear. _Why did I ever get into this, I must've been crazy! _he thought._ Man, I will NEVER commit another crime as long as I live_. When he returned, Artie gestured towards Frank with the gun. "Him too."

Jay almost protested, but luckily caught himself.  _If I'm not careful, I'll probably end up in there! _Trying to hold in a sigh, he again started to slowly drag Frank, this time in the direction of the vault. 

Frank moaned softly once, and if Jay had a weapon, he would've taken Artie out then and there. 

_Who does this guy think he is?_ he thought. _Taking people's lives into his own hands, like he owns them? _Anger started to grow in him. The bank job was supposed to be clean, a simple, 'this is a holdup, gimme the cash! Thanks, see ya!' He hadn't even known Artie had brought the knife! _I was in it for the money, not to hurt people._ _If this guy dies, I will not let Artie get away with it._

He kicked the vault door—which he wasn't about to lock, sealing the poor hostages in—and dragged Frank inside. 

The hostages crawled back as far away from him as they could, clearly afraid.

Jay looked to make sure that Artie couldn't hear him, and then said, "You people don't have to be afraid of me, I had no intentions of anything like this! I didn't want anyone hurt."

They all just stared, not sure what to think. 

Jay sighed. "Look, I'll prove it." He pulled Frank closer to them, and then stepped back. "Artie made me bring him in here, maybe that's a good thing, you people can help him better then I can."

The three men who'd given their shirts slowly crawled over to Frank, keeping a wary eye on Jay as they got closer. 

"I know you don't trust me, after what has happened I wouldn't trust me either!" He frowned, thinking that didn't sound quite right. "Look, I _really_ mean this, if there was a way for me to get you all out of here, I would!"

Suddenly he heard footsteps, and realized that Artie was coming. He quickly left the vault, and closed it as much as he could without it sealing. 

"Hey, what's taking you so long?"

"Nothing. Everybody's inside, figured you wanted me to stay here and keep an eye on 'em."

"Oh." Artie turned around, looking nervous.

Jay had to force himself not to sigh. Artie's sudden unease was making him practically shake with fear. If Artie was now doubting a successful getaway, after getting them this far—_after causing it, you mean_—then he felt he should kiss his life goodbye while he was still alive to do it. 


	4. A New Hostage

_*ring*_

"What do you want now? Where's my chopper?"

"On its way," Jake told him. "There's only one thing, we aren't giving it to you for free. We want something too."

"What?" Artie asked, as if it wasn't obvious.

"Frank and the hostages."

Jake heard a sigh over the phone. "I already told you you ain't getting Donovan!"

This time Jake sighed. "Then we want the others. Send a few of them out now."

"Heh! Fat chance. Maybe I _will_ let some go, but it'll be in my own sweet time, not by _your_ order."

Jake ran a hand through his hair. Usually cool, and collected, he wasn't a real hostage negotiator, and was racking his brains trying to get through to this guy. _Figures, _he thought, _this time,_ _the hostage negotiator is the hostage._ Suddenly an idea occurred to him.

"Look, when the chopper gets here and you leave, you aren't gonna take all the hostages with you. Let them go, there's no reason to keep them in there anymore."

"Whether I let them go or not, you can forget about Donovan."

"I have a better idea," said Jake. "I'll exchange myself for him."

Beside him, Alex gasped. 

"What do I want _you_ for?" Artie asked. "You have nothing to do with Donovan putting Tommy away."

Jake looked at Cody as the rest of the team listened to Artie through the recorder they were using to tape the conversation. When Cody heard the clue, he immediately started typing away.

"How do you know? I'm part of Frank's team. Whatever he's working on, _I_ am too."

Artie was silent for a minute. 

Inside the bank, Jay watched him, wondering what was going through his mind. Suddenly he saw an expression on Artie's face that was worthy of Peter Ustinov as Emperor Nero in the movie 'Quo Vadis'.

"Okay," Artie said. "I think we can do that." 

_Do what? _Jay thought with dread, hating hearing only one side of the conversation. 

********************

Jake was surprised when Artie agreed. Instead of wondering why, his only concern was to get Frank out of that bank. 

"Good," he said. "When can we do the exchange?"

"Right now. I'll let the hostages out, and then you, and only you, can come in, get Donovan out and then come back."

_What an idiot!_ Jake thought. _Doesn't he realize that once I have Frank, I won't go back in? "Sounds good to me," he said. _

"Okay," Artie said. "I'm gonna let them out now."

_Let them out? Jay thought, watching Artie hang up the phone. _

"Go get the hostages," Artie told him.

"You're letting them go?" Jay said, trying to keep the happiness out of his voice.

Artie nodded. 

Jay ran towards the vault, smiling. _Thank God! Now no one else will get hurt. _

********************

In the vault, the hostages were all huddled against the far back wall, while some of them were in the front keeping an eye on the door.

"Do you think any of us are gonna get out?" One of the women asked the three men tending to Frank, her voice shaking.

"I don't know," one of them said, holding yet another shirt over Frank's wound, the bleeding finally having slowed. "I can't believe this guy is still alive."

"Barely," one of the others pointed out. "He won't be for long if he's in here much longer."

Suddenly Frank moved slightly, and made a soft sound.

"He's waking up!" someone said, shocked.

The three men held him down so he wouldn't move, while the rest of the hostages moved closer.

Frank opened his eyes slightly, not sure where he was, the unfamiliar voices adding to his confusion. He felt hands on his arms and he automatically resisted them, but didn't have the strength to get very far.

"Hey take it easy, man, don't move!"

"Where…who…?"

"You're still in the bank," one of the men said.

_Bank? _Frank thought, disoriented. The robbery! _I'm still alive…wonder how long we've been in here…_

"Don't try to talk," said a disembodied voice from Frank's right. 

"Someone's coming!"

Everyone jumped at those words, and the men watching the door scrambled back to the group. A few of them prayed that it would be Jay, the sane one of the two.

To everyone's relief, it was. 

Jay ran in, taking in the scene. "He's letting you all go."

The hostages gasped and squealed. 

"Come on, quick! Before he changes his mind!"

The hostages all stood. "What about him?" A woman asked, pointing to Frank.

Jay sighed. "No, not yet. I'll take care of him, don't worry."

A few of the people looked down at Frank, as if not wanting to leave him there alone.

"Come on," Jay said. "He'll be all right. Just get out of here!"

The hostages all ran out of the vault, stopping to allow Jay to walk in front of them, still afraid of Artie. 

Artie went over to the door, and looked out the glass. He saw all the police cars and officers, and easily identified the Chief; with his different uniform, and Jake; obviously the young man standing next to him. They were all watching the door, waiting for it to open. 

"Okay, everyone!" Artie yelled. "You're free to go!" He ran far away from the door, and stood pointing Frank's gun at it, in case any cops chose that moment to rush the place.

Jay went to open the door, and realized that this was his chance to escape. His heart did a flutter at the thought of being out of the bank at the dangerous time when the cops gained access, as he knew they eventually would. As he opened the door, however, he remembered Frank, dying in the vault. _Oh man, _he thought. _I can't leave that guy to die. _

"Hurry, run fast," he whispered to them, still unsure of Artie's intentions.

"I'll tell the cops about you," the lady who asked him about Frank whispered back. He assumed she meant she'd tell him that he'd tried to help. 

He smiled his thanks at her, and when they were all out of the bank, he closed the door.

********************

Jake and the rest of the team ran forward with the rest of the cops when the hostages came down the bank's steps. Grabbing the people's arms, they hurried them away from the building.

"Anyone hurt?" Alex asked, when they'd assembled behind one of the SWAT team's vans.

Everyone shook their heads. They all looked shaken, but unharmed. "No, just the guy still in there, in the vault," someone said.

_Frank's in the bank's vault?! _"What did the thief do to him?" Jake asked.

"Stabbed him," someone else said.

"Where?" Jake asked, feeling a chill go down his spine. He watched the people point to the left side of their midsections, not everyone's hands in the same place. 

"Right here," a man in the front said. "I tried to stop the bleeding."

Jake marked the place on his own body, trying to figure out what kind of damage could have been done. Apparently the wound was right under the ribcage; right about where the spleen would be. The realization doubled his worry. 

"All right, thanks everyone. Before you leave, give your names to the cops, in case they want to speak to you about this."

"Wait!"

Jake tried to figure out who had spoken, with some annoyance. He wanted to get to Frank _now_.

A woman stepped closer. "The other man in the bank…"

"Other man? There are two?"

She nodded. "Yes, but he isn't like Artie."

Cody's jaw dropped. "That looney's name is Artie? Did you get his last name?"

They all shook their heads.

Cody muttered under his breath.

"What _about_ this other guy?" Jake prompted, hoping she'd hurry.

"His name is Jay, and he tried to help us. He didn't want people hurt, I think he would've actually turned on Artie, if he'd had a weapon."

"Artie has Frank's gun and a knife, anything else?"

"No."

Jake nodded. "Okay, thanks." He ran to the Chief, just as the phone rang.

"Well?" he heard in the receiver. "What's taking you so long?"

"I had to make sure the hostages were all right. I'm coming in now."

"Fine," Artie said, and hung up.

"Jake."

He turned after hanging up the phone, to see Alex behind him, looking worried. 

"Be careful," she said.

Jake smiled, and gave her a reassuring nod. He then walked towards the bank, going up the stairs. Artie met him at the door, pointing the gun at him as he opened it, and stepped back.

"Come on in, your friend is right over there."

Jake stepped into the bank, looking around for Frank and warily watching Artie at the same time. 

Artie slammed the door loudly, and started to laugh.

Jake turned around. "What _is_ this?"

"I can't believe you believed me!" Artie said, still laughing.

Jake glared at him. "You said you would let Frank go, in exchange for me!" 

"I lied. Criminals lie! Don't you know that?"

Jake took a step towards him, but stopped at the sight of the gun—Frank's gun—staring him in the face. 

"Jay!" Artie yelled. "Get over here!" 

********************

Jay was in the vault with Frank, taking his pulse when he heard Artie call him. _Oh man, now what? _he thought. He went back to the front of the bank, and saw Jake there, Artie holding the gun on him.

"What's going on, Artie?" he asked, trying to play dumb.

"Show our new guest his accommodations, Jay."

Jake looked at Jay, and could see that the hostages were right about him. He _was_ afraid of Artie. Jay gave Jake an apologetic look behind Artie's back, as he motioned for Jake to follow him.

Artie ran over to the window, and looked out it, with a laugh. He couldn't wait to see the look on the cop's faces when they realized that Jake wasn't coming back out.


	5. The Thief 's Identity Found Out

Hi people! So sorry I wasn't able to post this chapter last night, my internet connection was all messed up, lol. I bought the things I needed to give my laptop a wireless connection to the internet via my cable modem, (woo hoo!) but after I finished, it didn't work! LOL! Turned out it wasn't something I'd done wrong, my cable provider's service was out, LOL! Okay, enough of my babbling, read on! Thanks for the reviews!

As soon as they were out of Artie's view and earshot, Jake opened his mouth to ask Jay about Frank, but before Jake had the chance, Jay grabbed him by the arm and started running to the vault.

"Your friend is in bad shape, I dunno if he's gonna make it."

Jake felt like someone punched him in the stomach when he heard those words. He'd been hoping that Artie had only been trying to scare them when he said that Frank was dying, but apparently, it was true. When he stepped into the vault, he actually stopped dead, at the sight. 

Frank was laying completely still, his face more grayish then white, a pile of bloody shirts nearby, and blood all over his clothes. He didn't even look alive.

Jake ran over and dropped to his knees beside him. "Frank?" he said, hoping he was conscious. He got no reply, as he uncovered the wound, and winced at what he saw. _Internal damage for sure! _Checking his pulse, he found it to be sluggish and irregular. He took off his coat and covered Frank's very cold body with it, thankful that he'd worn it. 

Jake looked up at Jay, who stood there watching, a sympathetic look on his face. He stood. "We have to get him out of here, you _have_ to help me."

Jay's eyebrows went up. "How? I have no weapon, Artie has two."

Jake sighed. "We gotta get Frank out of here _now_, or he _is_ gonna die!"

********************

Chief Morgan and the rest of the UC team stood together, watching the door. 

"What's taking so long?" the Chief asked.

Alex sighed, and looked at Monica. 

"I don't think he's coming out," Monica said.

The chief sighed. "He's keeping Frank _and_ Jake!"

Alex shook her head. "I knew it!"

"Jake'll be able to take Artie down," Cody said. "This might be a good thing. He can take him out and get Frank out of there."

"Yeah, at least Frank is being taken care of, now that Jake's with him," said Monica.

"If that jerk's _letting_ him, you mean," Alex said, angrily. 

Suddenly they heard the sound of a helicopter. The looked up to see it flying towards the bank's roof. 

The phone rang a minute later, and Morgan picked it up. 

"That my chopper?" he heard.

The chief sighed. "Yes, it will be landing on the roof. You don't need Frank and Jake anymore, let them go now."

"Fat chance of that, chief. Donovan isn't gonna live much longer anyway!"

Chief Morgan felt his blood start to boil. "Look you scum, when we find you, you will be put away for so long you'll regret having been born! Armed robbery is bad enough, you want to add _murder_ to your prison sentence too?"

In answer, Artie laughed. "You aren't _gonna_ find me, Chief." 

Morgan opened his mouth to reply, but was met with a dial tone instead. He dialed back, and waited for Artie to answer.

"What?"

"If you don't let them go, we won't give you the chopper."

Alex and Monica stood by nervously, afraid that the Chief's methods were going to get Frank and Jake killed.

"You told me that if I let the hostages go, you'd give me the chopper!"

"_You_ told _us_ that you would let Jake take Frank out of there!" Morgan yelled back.

Artie started to laugh. He didn't know what to say to that, however, so he hung up.

Morgan slammed the phone down, in disgust. Before Alex and Monica could say anything, Cody jumped out of the van and ran over. 

"I know his name! Artie Capone!"

"Capone?" Monica repeated. "Why am I not surprised?"

"What has he done, what's his connection to Frank?" Alex asked.

Cody sighed. "I found no connection at all. He's a bank robber, and car thief, amongst other things. I found no reference to a 'Tommy', or anything that Frank could've had anything to do with."

"He said he wanted revenge," Morgan reminded them.

Cody shook his head, not understanding why there was no information. "I'll go read the file again."

*******************

"You mean he's _still_ alive?"

Jake and Jay turned to see Artie standing in the doorway of the vault, a look of annoyance on his face. 

"What is it you have against Frank? Who is this Tommy you mentioned?" Jake asked. 

"Why don't you ask him, _he'll_ tell you," Artie said, gesturing to Frank. "Oh, I guess he doesn't feel like talking right now, does he?" He turned and walked away, laughing.

Jake jumped to his feet, but Jay grabbed him by the arm. "You go after him and he'll shoot you and then _neither_ of you will make it out of here!"

Jake sighed, and knelt next to Frank again, belatedly seeing a bruise on his cheekbone. It made him angry to see that Artie had obviously taken advantage of Frank's inability to fight back. "There must be _some_ _way_ to get out! I'm not just gonna sit here and let Frank die!" 

"Jake…"

Jake jumped at the voice that came out of nowhere, realizing it was his boss. "Frank!"

 Not bothering to ask how Jake came to be in the bank, Frank merely said, "Escape…without me. Save yourself…"

Jake shook his head vehemently. "No! I won't leave you to die!"

Frank shivered, feeling positively freezing. "Too late…" he said, meaning he was close to death already. Closing his eyes, he didn't see the look of anguish that passed over Jake's face at his words.

"Frank!" Jake said, shaking him slightly, realizing too late that that wasn't a very nice thing to do to poor Frank at the moment. Frank winced and opened his eyes slightly; glad he'd done it, in a way. He was afraid that if he lost consciousness again, he'd never wake up. 

"Frank, listen to me," Jake said, urgently. "I _am_ getting out of here, but so are you. I'm not leaving you, even if I have to die _with_ you!"

Frank was too out-of-it to react to that statement, closing his eyes again with a weak gasp as pain laced through him. 

"Frank!" Jake checked his pulse when Frank didn't open his eyes again, and found it still there. He sighed in frustration, not knowing what to do.

Jay stood there the whole time, watching. In his mind, he was sure Frank was going to die, and he felt horrible, blaming himself for the situation. "Jake?" he said.

Jake turned to look at him.

"I'll help you in whatever way I can, to get you _both_ out of here."

********************

"The chopper has landed. Are you going to let Frank and Jake go now, or what?" Chief Morgan asked Artie.

"Yeah, I'll let them go. Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes." With that, Artie hung up.

Morgan's eyebrows went up, and he put the phone down. "He said he'll let them go, on the roof." He ran off to give his men orders.

Monica frowned, and looked at Alex, who wore a similar expression. "That doesn't make sense, after all this."

"A change of heart?" Alex asked. "He thinks he got his money and an escape route, so he might as well give them up, to save his life?"

Monica shook her head. "That doesn't fit his personality. He's more likely to do something terrible, like…" she couldn't even say it.

Alex caught her breath as she realized what Monica meant, remembering Artie's earlier threat of killing Frank in front of them.

********************

"Okay, people! Time to get outta here!" Artie yelled, running into the vault.

Jay and Jake both looked at him. "What?" Jay said.

"We are about to make our escape," said Artie, slinging the stuffed-full-of-money duffle bag onto his shoulder. "Get him up," he said, gesturing his gun to Frank.

"'Get him up'?" Jake echoed, incredulous.

"Yeah! As in 'on his feet'." He pointed the gun at Frank's head. "Do it! Now! Any wrong moves and he gets it."

Having no choice, Jake and Jay carefully pulled Frank up, who they found was semi-conscious. Frank gasped with pain, unable to stand. His head spun as they held onto him tightly. 

Artie pointed the gun at Jake. "You, move away."

Jake didn't budge, so Artie pointed the gun at Frank's head again. With a glance at Jay, Jake backed away slowly, and Artie moved forward and roughly grabbed Frank out of Jay's grasp, and into a headlock, his arm around Frank's throat. 

Frank weakly tried to grab Artie's arm, to push it away, but hardly managed to get his arms up halfway before they dropped again. 

Artie pointed his gun at Jake again. "Walk." 

Jake obeyed, and looked behind himself to see that Jay was behind him, and Artie behind Jay. Artie was having a hard time pulling Frank along, who was too weak and not quite conscious enough to walk. Artie still had the gun to Frank's head. 

They all left the vault and waited for Artie's next order. 

"Jay, take him to the car," Artie said, walking well behind Jake and Jay as they started to walk to the back door of the bank. When they reached it, Jay opened it and they walked into an alley behind the bank where a late model black 4 dr Honda Accord was parked. 

"Stop there," Artie said, pulling Frank along.

Jake obeyed, wishing Artie would come closer, so he could jump him and end the situation _now_, before they got into the car, and into more danger.

"Over there," Artie said, motioning for Jake to move away from the car, Jay following. Artie reached the car and opened the back door, practically throwing Frank inside, who tried unsuccessfully to stifle a cry of pain. Artie fished keys out of his pocket, and threw them at Jay, who caught them, nervously. 

"Get in," Artie said to Jake, pointing the gun at him. 

Seeing no way out, especially now that Frank was in the thief's car, he got in, helping Frank—who was limply laying across the seat—into a more comfortable position. 

Jay got in quickly, and whispered to Jake, "Put your seatbelts on!" before Artie got in. 

Jake complied, putting Frank's on too—as loosely as he could safely make it, with the horrible stab wound in the way. He held onto his barely-conscious boss tightly as Jay started to drive, wondering what Jay had in mind. 

********************

"Where are they? It's been more then five minutes," Chief Morgan said. 

Monica shook her head. "Something's not right."

"I agree," Alex said, taking out a walkie-talkie. "Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"Have an officer try to take a peek into a bank window."

"Will do."

They stood there on the roof, waiting for Cody's reply. 

"Uh," they heard.

"What?" Alex asked.

"There doesn't appear to be anyone in there, they said."

Morgan muttered something under his breath, and yelled to the SWAT team. "Go in, now!"

By the time Morgan, Alex, and Monica got back to the ground, some of the SWAT team was coming out. 

"The bank is empty sir."

"HOW did they get away?!" Morgan roared, taking off his hat and throwing it to the ground. 

"Probably by car!" said Alex. "It was a trick, so they could escape while we were on the roof!"

Morgan grabbed a bullhorn, and yelled to all the officers to make chase, hoping somehow to find the car and rescue Frank and Jake before it was too late.


	6. The Spleen is a Man's Best Friend

"Where are we going?" Jake asked Artie, who was turned around in the front passenger seat, holding the gun on them.

"You'll find out," he said. 

Jake sighed as he watched the scenery zip by. They were going fast, over the speed limit. He could _not_ believe that no policemen had been at the back door of the bank, and he made a mental note to ask Morgan why, if they got out of this. _When, _he thought to himself, _not if. _He sighed, wondering what Jay was going to do; the ball was in his court now, with him being at the wheel. 

Jay was waiting to come to a more secluded area away from people and cars before he made his move. He was scared at what he was about to do, and hoped he wouldn't kill Frank or Jake, in his attempt to _save_ their lives. Finally a quiet stretch of road appeared, and he looked in the rearview mirror, hoping to get Jake's attention.

Jake saw him, and realized that he was trying to tell him something. Jay looked at Frank, and then back at Jake, and Jake figured it out. He gripped Frank tightly, and braced himself. 

When Jay saw that Jake was ready, he took a deep breath, and wrenched the steering wheel to the right, as hard as he could.

The car flipped over onto its back and rolled once, landing on the side of the road.

Jake opened his eyes, in shock that Jay had pulled it off, and tried to see if Frank was all right. 

"Frank?" 

Frank was alive but unconscious, whether from the stab wound or some new injury, he wasn't sure.

Jake took off the seatbelts and dragged Frank out of the car, where he laid him on the ground. He then went back to the vehicle, realizing that Jay hadn't come out, and neither had Artie.

He saw Artie unconscious, thankfully, and Jay fumbling with his seatbelt, looking dazed.

Jake opened the door of the now-mangled car for him, and helped him climb out. "You okay?"

Jay nodded, shaking like a leaf in the wind. "Y-yeah, I think so." He saw Frank lying on the ground, and stumbled over to him. 

"He's alive!"

Jake nodded, as he dialed a number on his cell phone. "Yeah, he is, thanks to you."

********************

Alex's cell phone rang, and she almost ignored it till she saw a familiar number on the screen. "Jake!" she yelled. "Where are you? Are you and Frank all right?!"

Morgan jammed on his cruiser's brakes, waiting to find out which direction to go in.

Alex was shaking her head at what she was being told. "All right, we're near there, be there in a couple minutes." She hung up. "Jay flipped the car to take out Artie! They're on Illinois Road."

Morgan continued driving, grabbing his radio and asking for an ambulance to meet them there. 

********************

Jake and Jay pulled Artie out of the car, and laid him on the grass, far away from Frank. Artie's head was bleeding, but not badly.

Jake took Frank's gun back, looking forward to returning it to him. He stuck it in his waistband with a sigh, as he went back over to his boss.

Frank looked worse. Jake wasn't sure if it was because of the different lighting—sunlight rather then the artificial lighting in the bank—or if he really _was_ worse. He felt his pulse and found it even weaker now.

"Frank," he whispered. "Don't do this to us! You made it this far, hold on a little longer!"

He didn't expect a reply, so he wasn't surprised when he didn't get one. Suddenly he heard sirens, and sighed with relief when a herd of police cars came flying down the road. They screeched to a halt, and the officers all jumped out, pointing their guns at Jay.

"No!" Jake yelled.

Morgan walked over, with a frown. "What?"

Jake shook his head, not sure how to explain. 

"It's all right, Jake," Jay said, holding his wrists out for the handcuffs. "It'll get sorted out."

Jake nodded. "Chief, he helped us, if it wasn't for him, Frank would be dead, and probably me too."

Morgan digested his statement for a minute, and then nodded and put his gun away. 

The ambulance pulled up, and the medics jumped out and ran over to Frank and Artie. 

"Forget about _him_!" Alex yelled, to the medic that knelt beside the thief. Pointing to Frank, she said, "He's the one who did _this_!" 

Morgan nodded at them, and called for another ambulance over his radio.

Monica took Alex's arm and pulled her away from Frank, so the medics could do their job.

The four of them watched nervously, as the medics knelt beside their boss, and started to treat him.

"Pulse is weak and thready…"

"BP 55/20! He needs blood _yesterday_…"

"Can't find a vein for the IV…shoot…"

"Respiration shallow…gimme the oxygen...thanks…" Faster then the team thought possible, the medics had Frank on the stretcher, and were loading it into the ambulance. Jake jumped in, to go with them. 

"Jake, wait!" yelled Morgan.

"What?" Jake said, peeking out the doors.

"We need your…oh forget it, we'll get your statement later. Go."

Jake gave him a half smile, and shut the doors. 

As the ambulance sped away, Artie started to come around. He didn't stay conscious for long, for as soon as Alex noticed, she punched him in the face. 

*******************

Jake sat in the hospital waiting room, his head in his hands. The relief at being out of the bank, and having gotten Frank out alive, was dulled by the uncertainty of Frank's future. _Will he survive this? Was I too late? Is he even still alive, at this moment?_ He tried not to look at the clock, knowing it would say that only five minutes had passed since he last looked at it. 

Suddenly his cell phone rang, making him jump. He fumbled with it, nearly dropping it. "Hello?"

"Jake, heard anything?"

"No, Alex, I wish."

She sighed. "Okay. We're gonna try to get up there ASAP."

Jake nodded. "Okay." He hung up, and heaved a huge sigh. Sitting back against the couch, the situation finally caught up with him, and he unexpectedly dozed off.

"'Scuse me?"

Jake jumped, again. Standing before him was a doctor, wearing a surgical gown. "Are you the one who brought Mr. Donovan in?"

Jake jumped to his feet, trying to ignore the inevitable bloodstains on the doc's scrubs. "Yeah, how is he?"

The doctor hesitated.

Jake felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. _No…he's dead, I was too late…_

"Unfortunately, the knife did some extensive damage…"

"No…" Jake shook his head.

"I'm sorry…"

"No!"

"We had to remove his spleen."

Jake blinked. "What?"

"We removed his spleen," the surgeon repeated. "The knife…"

"'Caused damage', I heard you. You mean Frank is alive?"

The doctor nodded. 

Jake was so relived he felt dizzy. "Thank God!"

"I imagine you want to see him?"

Jake nodded.

The doctor motioned for Jake to follow him, which he did, all the way to the ICU, where Frank had a private room. 

Jake sighed at the sight of his boss; pale and surrounded by machines. Jake stepped closer, and cringed when he saw that Frank's breathing was being helped by a respirator. 

"He's gonna make it, right? What will his life be like without a spleen?" Jake asked, not sure how vital the organ was.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, he'll make it." Then he sighed. "The spleen is our body's fighter; the largest lymph node in the body. Without it, he will have a greater chance of infections, colds, and the like, especially pneumonia, which is very common in people without spleens."

"Wow," Jake said, with a sigh. "When will he wake up?"

The doctor shrugged. "Could be tonight, could be tomorrow. He's been through a lot."

Jake nodded. "He has." He saw a chair and dragged it over to the bed, not intending to leave. 

The doctor was apparently used to cops never leaving their colleagues, and said to him, "I have to go make my rounds. If anything happens, just press that button on the wall, and the nurses will come."

"Okay, thanks."

Less then a minute after the doctor left, Alex, Monica, and Cody came barreling into the room.

"Frank! Oh no…"

"He looks terrible!"

"Yikes!"

"Shhh!" Jake said. "This _is_ the ICU, people."

They all tried to calm down, and lower their voices, knowing that there were some pretty sick people in the adjoining rooms.

"What did the doctor say?" Alex whispered.

Jake sighed. "They removed his spleen."

"They WHAT?!" Cody exploded.

"I heard that that's not good, when someone loses their spleen," Monica said, worriedly.

Jake shrugged. "The doc told me that the spleen is the body's fighter. Without it Frank'll catch colds and stuff easily."

Alex sighed. "I can't _believe_ this…"

Jake echoed her sigh. "I know."

They were all silent for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts as they watched Frank.

"Where's Jay?" Jake asked.

"At the PD," said Monica. "He's still charged with attempting to rob a bank."

"With what you said, though," said Cody. "He might get off easy."

Jake nodded. "I hope so. If it wasn't for him, Frank and I _both_ would probably be dead by now."


	7. Wakey, wakey, Frankie!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU all so much for the wonderful reviews!! I am so happy everyone likes this story so much! There's still about 2 chapters left, (after this one) it's almost done!                 

The next day, the team was assembled in Frank's room, still waiting for him to awaken. The doctor had been in a few minutes prior, and told them that Frank was doing as well as expected, and not to worry; he should wake up soon. Nonetheless they were all startled when one of the machines started beeping.

Alex jumped up and hit the button on the wall, and the doctor ran in with a nurse behind him. He figured out the problem, and hit a button on the ventilator. 

As the beeping stopped, they all looked at the doctor anxiously. "What happened?"

The doctor smiled. "He's waking up."

Just then Frank opened his eyes slightly, looking alarmed. The ventilator squawked again.

"Take it easy, Mr. Donovan, don't try to breathe, let the machine do it for you."

_Machine?_ Frank thought, groggily. He tried to obey the doctor, as the squawking was hurting his ears. It was the weirdest sensation he ever felt, an artificial source causing his lungs to inflate, and deflate. 

When the ventilator stayed quiet, the doctor smiled. "There now, that's better. Would you like me to remove that for you?"

Frank nodded, weakly, blinking his eyes tiredly. 

The doctor turned to the rest of the team, who were staring at Frank, in sympathy. "Could you all step out for a minute?"

Reluctant at first, they all nodded and filed out the door. A few minutes later the doctor opened it again, and let them back in. 

"He's not fully coherent," the doc told them. "If you talk to him, try to keep it short. I'll be right back."

They all went back to the bed, grateful that the doc had left, so they could be alone with Frank. 

His eyes were closed, but when they approached, he opened them.

"Hey, Frank," Alex said. "How you feeling?"

Frank just blinked at them for a minute, before saying, "All right." His voice sounded scratchy, no doubt from the presence of the ventilator.

"Sure you are," Cody said, not believing him.

Jake sat in the chair nearest Frank. "Do you remember what happened?"

Again, Frank just lay there blinking, his eyes closing more and more.

Jake looked to the others and sighed. They all shook their heads or shrugged at him.

"The bank, Frank. You were a hostage, remember? We got you out."

"Bank?" Frank whispered, sounding confused.

Jake nodded, smiling. "Yeah."

"Other…hostages?" Frank asked.

Jake nodded. "We got them all out safely. No one else got hurt."

Frank smiled slightly. "Good…job…" he said, and fell asleep. 

********************

Frank slept the rest of the day, and awoke more coherent the next morning. This time the team's clue that he was awake was when he tried to move, and winced.

Monica was the first one to see. "Frank! Stay still!" she said, grabbing his arm.

They all crowded around the bed, reaching out to hold him down and prevent him from hurting himself.

Frank winced again, trying to stifle a groan. 

They all waited for him to open his eyes again before they spoke, knowing anything they said would probably go over his head. 

When he finally looked at them, he spoke before anyone else got the chance. "The bank…what happened?"

"You mean the outcome?" Jake asked.

Frank nodded, not remembering what was said the previous day.

"We got all the hostages out safely, and took out Artie," Jake said, opting to save the details for later, when Frank could process them a little better.

Frank sighed with relief. Then his eyebrows went up.

"What?" Jake asked.

"Didn't think…I'd make it."

The team smiled at him. 

"Looks like the ol' Donovan Luck is still going strong," said Cody.

Everyone shared a smile over that one.

"What did the doc say?" Frank asked slowly, trying to stay awake.

Jake hesitated for a second, not sure how Frank would react. "Uh, well…luckily the knife _just_ missed your intestines and such, but…"

Frank frowned at him, waking up a little more at the implications of Jake's hesitation.

"They had to remove your spleen, it was too damaged to fix."

Frank's eyes opened wider. He was surprised, for sure.

They all waited for him to say something, but he didn't…or _couldn't_. 

"Oh," he finally said. "Just a spleen." He said it nonchalantly, a mask of unconcern wiping away his shocked expression.

"Well, it could've been worse," said Cody. "You could've lost your wonderful sense of humor."

Not expecting that, they all started laughing, including Frank who gasped and stopped quickly.

"Sorry," Cody said, making a face as if to say 'oops'.

Frank sighed, allowing his eyes to slip shut.  He hoped they'd take the hint and leave him alone for a while so he could digest the news.  

"Frank?" Monica said, quietly. "You okay?"

Frank knew it was hopeless, getting them to leave him alone, so he opened his eyes and nodded. "Tired," he said, knowing they'd shut up once they'd heard that. It wasn't a lie, either. 

They all looked at him sympathetically. "Get some sleep, Frank," Alex said. "We'll be here."

So much for being left alone, Frank thought. He gave her a weak smile, nonetheless appreciating their concern. 

********************

Frank jumped, hearing whispered voices in the room. A hand suddenly touched his arm, and he opened his eyes and blinked, disorientated. 

"Frank?"

He looked up to see Jake there, and Chief Morgan, of the Chicago PD. 

They both looked at him worriedly when he just blinked at them for a minute. 

"Frank? It's Steve Morgan," the chief said, afraid that he didn't recognize him.

Frank nodded. "Steve." 

Morgan smiled. "Whoa, Frank, you scared me for a minute there! How you feeling?"

Frank smiled. "Could be worse," he said. _Could be better, _he left out.

"Glad to hear it! I hate to do this to you, but I need to know what Jay's role was in the robbery, he's saying he helped you get out, and Jake agrees, but we don't know what went on before Jake went in the bank."

_Remember to ask Jake why he went in there in the first place! _Frank tried to think. "I don't know…" he shook his head. "I was stabbed…right after…it started." 

Morgan nodded, somberly. "That's what we figured. We'll have to rely on the witnesses only, then."

"Maybe he'll remember more after he's out of here," Jake said. "And not on so much pain medicine!"

Morgan shrugged. "Good point. Now, you're sure it was Capone who stabbed you, not Jay?"

Frank frowned. "Capone?"

"Artie Capone," Jake said. "That's the jerk's name."

Frank nodded. "Yeah…he was in front of me…in the bank line…"

Their eyebrows went up. "All right, then, this is good enough for now. I'll leave you to your rest, Frank. Take it easy, huh?"

Frank nodded. "Thanks, Steve," he said, knowing the Chief had had a hand in his rescue.

Morgan nodded. "Anytime."

As Morgan left, Frank looked at Jake, trying to remember what he wanted to ask him.

Jake could see the question on his face. "What?"

Frank sighed, having forgotten. _Stupid painkillers!_ "Forgot," he admitted.

Jake sat in the chair next to the bed. "Was it about the case?"

Frank nodded. 

"You wanna know how we took Artie out?"

Frank felt like that wasn't it, but he wanted to know that too, so he nodded. 

"Well, after I got in the bank—"

"That!" Frank said, to tired to say much. "How'd _you_…get inside…"

"Oh," Jake said, sheepishly. "Well, I, uh, offered to trade myself for you—"

"Jake…"

"And he agreed, but when I went in, he wouldn't let you out, so we were _both_ stuck there."

"Jake…" 

"So then the chopper came, but Artie didn't intend to use it, it was a trick to get out of the bank while the police were on the roof waiting for us to go up there…"

"Jake…"

"So he forced us into a car, and Artie made Jay drive. Jay purposely flipped the car, and we got out. Artie was the only one not wearing a seatbelt, and got knocked out."

_Flipped the car?_

"Well?" Jake said, breaking the silence a minute later.

"Well what?"

"What were you gonna say?"

Frank sighed, in frustration. "Don't trade…yourself…for me."

Jake frowned. "You expected us to just let you _die_ in there?"

Frank sighed again, realizing that he would've done the same for the members of his team. 

"Thanks," he said. "But don't ever do it again."

Jake smiled. "Anything you say, boss."


	8. NEVER ask Cody to Babysit

Frank was in the hospital for two weeks, and ordered to stay on medical leave for at least three more. That amount of inactivity would've driven Frank insane, if it weren't for the pain that sitting for any length of time caused. 

Every day, someone from the team would go check up on him, see what he needed, if anything. Sometimes he would convince them to take him to HQ for a little while, just to get out of his apartment. It was usually Cody who he got to bring him, since he lived the closest to HQ and it was a shorter ride. 

Today was one of those days, and they walked in to hear Monica, Alex, and Jake laughing as they sat around Cody's best computer. 

"So this is what goes on when I'm not here?" Frank said, jokingly. 

They all turned around quickly, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. 

"Frank!" Monica said, jumping up from Cody's chair—nearly tipping it—and quickly moving away from the machine. "How you feeling?"

He smiled as he slowly walked to the couch, Cody refusing to let go of his arm.

"Doing better," he said. As soon as he'd gingerly sat down, Cody ran over to the computer and quickly inspected it.

"What did you do to it?" he asked, suspiciously.

No one said anything.

Cody sat down and started clickity-clicking on the keys, trying to find something amiss. 

They all quickly left Cody and went over to Frank. 

"How's the pain?" Alex asked.

"Improving," he answered. 

"Slowly," Jake observed, watching Frank squirm.

"Why don't you lie down, Frank," said Monica. "You'll feel be—"

"HEY!" Cody suddenly yelled.

Monica ran into the next room as if she was being chased. 

A second later she was, by Cody.

Frank watched them run, puzzled. "Wha—?" 

Alex tried not to laugh. "We deleted Solitaire off all of Cody's computers."

Frank frowned. "Why?"

"As a joke! We didn't think we'd get caught _doing_ it…"

Frank still didn't understand. He looked up at Jake, who explained what had gone on while Frank had been in the bank line that day, when Monica had solved Cody's Solitaire game for him.

Suddenly Monica came flying into the room, Cody fast on her heels. 

"CODY!" Alex yelled.

"WHAT!" he yelled back.

"WE SAVED IT ON A DISK!"

Cody stopped dead, his shoes making a loud screech on the floor. "You did?"

Alex nodded, holding it out.

Cody went over to her, took it, and went back to his mass of computers without saying a word.

Monica stuck her head out of the closet. "Is it safe to come out now?"

Alex laughed. "Yup."

Monica stepped out, looking at Cody, to make sure he didn't come after her again. When he didn't, she approached the couch, and smiled as if nothing had happened. 

The phone rang, and Cody answered it. Not too many people had that phone number, so they all looked at Cody as he spoke to the caller.

"Jake," he said. "It's the DA, regarding yours and Frank's testimonies." He pushed against the table and rolled his chair closer to them, tossing the cordless phone to Jake. 

Jake caught it. "Hello, sir…yeah, I think I got it pretty much worked out…Frank? Yeah he's doing better…" He made a face at Frank as if asking him if he wanted to talk to the DA.

Frank shook his head, to tired to banter.

"Yeah…really? That would be good…yeah, I'll tell him…okay…right…bye." Jake hit the 'hang up' button, and tossed it back to Cody, who almost missed catching it.

"What'd he say?" Frank asked.

"He's gonna let you wait till the last day of the trial to give your testimony."

"Why?" Cody asked, not thinking first.

"So he doesn't overdo it while he's still recuperating, duh," said Monica; belatedly realizing she shouldn't get on Cody's bad side after what she'd just done to his precious computers. 

"That's nice of him," Alex said. "Good thing there were so many witnesses; they don't need your testimony asap in order to convict Capone."

"And it helps that Jay is gonna testify against him," said Jake. 

Everyone nodded. "I hope the judge has mercy on Jay," Monica said.

"So do I," Frank said, with a yawn he tried to stifle. 

"Okay, you've had enough, time to go home," Cody said, taking his keys out of his pocket.

Frank shook his head. "No, I'm fine." It hurt too much to remain sitting, however, so he shifted around to lie down instead. "I'll just lie down for a while."

Cody looked at Jake, who shrugged. "Okay, you're the boss!"

Frank fell asleep, and the team went about their business. 

Frank's nap turned into a deep slumber, and two hours later he was still out like a light. 

"Cody."

"Yeah?"

Alex walked over to him, whispering. "Monica and I are gonna go pick up some food. Keep an eye on Frank, okay?"

Cody looked up from his screen. "Where's Jake?"

"He had something to do," Alex said, and left.

"Okay," Cody replied to thin air. He looked back at the Solitaire game. _I love it when we're slow,_ he thought. He frowned when he saw that he'd wasted precious seconds, score-wise. This game was another toughie, but he was determined to win it…

********************

"Cody!"

Cody jumped when Alex's voice yelled, in the otherwise quiet room. "What?"

"Where's Frank?"

Cody jumped up from his chair, and saw that the couch was empty. "Uh…"

"You were supposed to be watching him!" Alex accused, as they started to look around.

Cody didn't answer, knowing she was right.

"Maybe he's in his office," said Monica, running up the stairs.

They all followed her, and saw that the door was open. Frank was sitting at his desk, leaning far back in his chair, his feet on the desk, so as not to stress his wound and cause himself pain.

"Frank! What are you doing?"

The unexpected voice startled him, making him jump so that he lost his balance and his feet came off the desk, making the chair snap back into an upright position. 

Frank gasped, and clutched his midsection, as the violent motion sent pain stabbing through his body.

The rest of the team ran to him in concern, seeing the pain on his face.

"Hello?" They heard Jake from downstairs.

"Up here!" Alex yelled.

Jake followed Alex's voice up to Frank's office, and was surprised to see Frank sitting at his desk slightly hunched over, his arms wrapped around his stomach. A pain-filled expression was on his face and the rest of the team was surrounding him.

"What happened?" he said nervously, running over.

"I'm a rotten babysitter, that's what," Cody said, with a sigh.

"What are you doing up here, Frank?" Jake asked him.

Frank sighed, willing the pain to subside. "Trying to…write…my testimony."

"Why didn't you just ask one of us to bring you the files?" Alex asked. "Better yet, you dictate, one of us writes."

"Or types," Cody suggested. 

"You shouldn't overdo it, Frank," said Monica. "If you want to get to the trial in one piece, you gotta take care of yourself."

"Yeah, starting with the delicious Chinese food the gals brought back," Cody said, practically drooling as the aroma wafted up into the office. 

"We got your favorite," Alex told Frank, with a smile. "Sweet & Sour Chicken, Moo Goo Gai Pan, and Beef Teriyaki."

Frank looked up at her, knowing how she and Monica thought he hadn't been eating enough since he'd been injured. "I know a plot when I hear one," he said with a slight smile, exhaling slowly as he was finally able to straighten up. 

"Whatever works," said Alex, taking his arm. "Now, back to the couch!"

*******************

The trial began two days later. Alex and Monica spent the day in the courtroom, glaring daggers at Artie when he happened to look in their direction. They were so busy glaring that they didn't notice the person who slipped in 5 minutes after the trial started.

Frank Donovan sat in the back row, slouched down in his seat. Not just to accommodate his wound, but so that no one would see and recognize him. The opening arguments went on for so long that Frank was actually relieved when one of the hostages went on the stand. He slouched down lower, however, not wanting attention to be drawn to his attendance. 

Suddenly people started standing up, and Frank realized that he'd been in a light doze for who knew how long. Realizing that the judge had called a recess—for lunch he realized, noticing the time—he got up as quickly as he could and left the courtroom before Alex or Monica saw him. 

By the time the court reconvened, Frank wasn't sure he wanted to go back in. Hearing the witness' testimony to what she'd seen—not only Artie's behavior, but also regarding his injury—it was upsetting, to say the least. He had almost bled to death, while a psycho had strutted around wreaking havoc. 

Eventually he went back in, but it wasn't too long afterwards when the court adjourned, to reconvene the next morning. Frank left the courthouse, but was too agitated to get in his car and drive, so he started walking down the street. After a while, his still not-fully-recovered body protested the exercise vehemently, and he regretted the impulsive action. He realized that there was a little park not far from where he was, and his only objective now was making it to one of the benches. 

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally made it, and all but collapsed onto the bench, trying not to wince. He sat there—or rather, slumped—and tried to figure out why he was so unsettled by this situation, more then all the others. He'd been injured before, many times, why was _this_ time so different? _Maybe because I lost one of my organs?_ How easily it could've been worse. Luckily the spleen was something he could do without, but would he be that 'lucky' next time?


	9. The 2002 Volvo S80…what a car! sigh

I thought this was gonna be the last chapter, but I guess I counted wrong, lol! One more left! Thanks for the reviews!!

"Man, everywhere I go, that car stares me in the face."

"Huh?" Monica asked Alex, as they walked into the courtroom's parking lot.

"The Volvo S80 over there, just like Frank's."

"Oh," Monica looked at the classy silver and black car that Alex had wanted, not long before the bank robbery. She'd told Monica all about it, having seen it sitting on a car lot. The next day Alex had come to work upset, telling Monica it was gone. Frank came in a few minutes later, and told them to come outside and see his new car. Monica laughed, remembering the look on Alex's face when she'd realized that Frank had bought the one she'd wanted so badly. "Uh, Alex…"

"Yeah?"

"That IS Frank's."

"What?" Alex said. She'd been too busy checking out the car to bother looking at the plate. "He came to the trial? I didn't see him."

"Me either. I wonder where he is now?"

"Let's wait for him. We were gonna stop by his place to see how he's doing anyway."

Monica nodded, and they stood there waiting for him to come out, since the trial was over for the day. 

"Where the heck is he?"

Alex shrugged. "I'll go back inside and look," she said, walking towards the building.

"Wait, gimme your keys, I'm freezing."

Alex tossed them to her, and went back in. 

Ten minutes later, she came back out, finding her car running and only Monica in it. "He didn't come out?"

Monica shook her head. "No." She got out, and they both looked around the parking lot. 

"You don't think he walked off or something, do you?" Alex asked.

Monica took out her cell phone, with a *duh*. "Let's ask him." She dialed and waited. Two rings. Three rings. Four. Voice mail. She walked over to Frank's car, and looked inside, after dialing it again. 

A faint ringing was heard. 

"He left it in there!" she said, surprised.

"I don't like this," Alex said. "It's freezing out here. If he _did_ walk off, it wasn't very smart of him, he's still far from 100% …" She sighed, and made a decision that she hoped Frank wouldn't kill her for. 

"Monica, take my car, we'll split up. Maybe one of us will catch up with him."

Monica nodded, hoping she was right. 

Alex got in Frank's car, trying not to moon over it and check out all the cool luxuries it contained. She did, however, turn on the car's seat warmer, and took a right out of the parking lot, praying that Frank wouldn't kill her for driving it. _He did give all of us keys to it_, she thought, trying to justify herself. _Of course, we all gave keys to each other, in case of emergency. This is an emergency!_

She drove for a while, before realizing that if they were wrong, and Frank _hadn't_ gone off walking, he would return to his car to find it missing, and would most likely report it stolen! The realization almost made her jam on the brakes. _I can see it now, 'Alex, you wanted my car so badly that you stole it?' _The thought made her laugh until she realized that if the cops found her driving it around—which they undoubtedly would if he reported it stolen, the S80 being new enough that not many were on the road yet—then she would be arrested! 

"Oh, Alex," she moaned aloud. "What have you done?" She turned around, and passed a small park. She looked to see if any people were in it, and saw someone sitting on a bench. She parked the car, walked into the park, and saw that is was Frank. Relief washed over her, and she ran to where he was slumped on the bench.

"Frank!"

Frank jumped slightly, startled at Alex's voice. He looked up at her with a frown, wondering what she was doing there.

Alex threw herself onto the bench, with a look of concern. "What are you doing? You _walked_ here? It's freezing! Are you nuts?" Alex suddenly remembered what the doctor had told them about spleen-less people. "You're still fragile, you'll get pneumonia!" She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up off the bench. "You're frozen! Come on, you gotta get warm."

_Fragile? _Frank sighed, never the type who liked to be mother-henned. "I'm fine."

"No you're not!"

"Alex," Frank said, in a sterner voice. "Sit down, will you."

At his tone, Alex knew she would get nowhere, and obeyed. She frowned when Frank sighed.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "Why did you walk all the way here, anyway?"

Frank shook his head. "Thinking."

"Thinking? You walked to a park on a freezing day in poor health just to think?"

Alex's tone and humorous words lightened Frank's dark mood. "Yeah," was all he said. 

"Wanna talk about it?"

Frank shook his head. "Nothing to talk about, really." How could he explain his fears of death—his realization that he _is_ in fact mortal—to someone who feared the same thing, thanks to their mutual job? Besides, he was the team's superior, the one who had to make the example, the one they looked up to. It wouldn't help them any to know that their leader really _was_ human.

Or would it?

Frank didn't get the chance to find out, for suddenly Alex said, "Monica! I have to let her know I found you." She pulled out her cell phone, and dialed. "I found him! At the park…yeah, that one…I know," she said, throwing a sharp look at Frank, who figured that Monica must've remarked on his having walked there. "Men are stubborn," Alex said, with a laugh. "Ok." She hung up. "She'll be here in a few minutes."

Frank shook his head. "Let's just go now," he said, not wanting to be fussed over by Monica too. He shook his head as he remembered the attitudes the team had had when he and they had first met. How things had changed in the past year and a half, after they all got comfortable with him. If he had to pick a word to describe all five of them now, it was 'close'. The thought made him smile; he hadn't been this close to many people in his hard life.

Alex stood and went to grab Frank's arm, but he shook his head at her, not wanting help. Frank knew that she and the rest of the team meant well, but he was getting sick of being treated like an invalid. 

As they walked out of the park, Frank noticed the nervous looks Alex was giving him, and he began to wonder if there was something she was afraid to tell him. As he looked for her car, he suddenly realized what it was when he spotted his Volvo instead. 

"My car," he said, his voice sounding oddly neutral to Alex.

"Monica and I found it in the parking lot, and we waited for you to come out of the court but you never did, and we saw you'd left your cell phone in it. I had Monica take my car and go one way, and I had to take yours to go another," she said, uncharacteristically fast. 

Frank thought it funny that Alex was afraid to see his reaction to her driving his car. She stared at him, waiting for a reply, but Frank just shook his head, with a slight smile, and got into the passenger side.

Alex's eyebrows went up, when she saw that Frank had not gotten in the driver's seat. Forcing back a childish squeal of glee, she got in, and pulled back into the traffic. She stole a glance at Frank and noticed that his cheeks were red from the cold. 

"You okay?" she asked as she turned up the heat all the way, on top of the seat warmers.

Frank nodded, not voicing it aloud.

Alex looked back at the road to see a car in the next lane suddenly veer into theirs, coming straight at them. Reacting fast, she wrenched the wheel to the right, avoiding the car, but going off the road and down a small embankment. 

"Frank!" Alex cried, when the car came to a stop. "Are you okay?"

Frank had a hand on the right side of his head, where he'd smacked it on the window. He quickly removed it when Alex looked at him. "Fine," he answered.

Suddenly someone was pounding on Alex's window. It was Monica.

Alex opened the door as Monica exploded, "Are you two okay? I saw the whole thing, that guy flew right at you!"

Alex shrugged as they both ran around to the passenger side, as Frank got out. After a barrage of questions—and his leaving out smacking his head on the window—they were satisfied that he was all right. 

Frank sighed inwardly. This mother-henning _had_ to stop. "You saw it all? You didn't get the plate, did you?" Frank asked, almost raising his hand to rub his sore head, but stopping himself just in time.

"Sure did; he was the car in front of me. Vanity plate: I-ROCK. I called the police, and an ambulance."

At mention of the word 'ambulance', Frank groaned. He'd seen enough of doctors and hospitals for a lifetime.

"Heh," Alex laughed. "He'll _rot_, not rock, in jail." Suddenly she thought of checking the car for damage, and her heart nearly stopped when she remembered that she was driving Frank's brand new Volvo. She slowly turned around, afraid to look. The passenger side looked fine. She slowly walked around it, trying not to attract attention from Frank and Monica as she did it. To her shock, the car didn't have a scratch on it. She sighed, in utter relief. 

Suddenly they heard sirens, and Frank sighed, hoping against hope that when the medics asked if they were all right, that Alex or Monica wouldn't mention his 'fragile' state…

********************

"Can I go now? Are you satisfied that I'm still in one piece?" Frank asked the doctor, trying—and failing—not to sound annoyed.

The doctor chuckled. "Yes, you can go." He stood there reading the top page of Frank's very thick medical file. "How's the pain from your stab wound?"

"Fine," Frank said, making a liar out of himself as he carefully slid off the table.

"Uh-huh," the doctor said, not believing him.         

As Frank walked down the hall, he shook his head. His hope had been in vain, for Alex and Monica had volunteered everything to the medics, who insisted on bringing him in. _I gotta have a talk with those two,_ he thought. As he walked into the waiting room, he found the whole team there waiting.  

"What did they say?" Alex asked.

"Exactly what I told you. I'm _fine_." He started walking towards the door, and everyone followed.

"I'd hate to see your health insurance premium," said Cody.

They all looked at him, not sure if it would be appropriate to laugh at a statement like that. Looking back at Frank, they saw a smile on his face.

"Let's just say I'm glad I don't have to pay it. I would _never_ have been able to afford that car," he said, as his precious Volvo came into view.

Alex sighed, biting back a remark. 

********************

The next day Frank went to HQ by himself. As he walked in the door, he saw Monica on the phone, and she gestured for him to come over to her. 

"That was the Chicago PD," she said, hanging up. "The jerk who ran you off the road yesterday apparently _wasn't_ someone after you."

Frank's eyebrows went up. "How do they know?"

Monica crossed her arms as she sat back in her chair. "He's just some drunk who works at a dead-end job. Been arrested for DWI twice before, all within the past year. This was #3. That, plus the accident he caused with you yesterday, puts him in jail for sure."

Frank nodded. "His license will be suspended too. So when he gets out, he'll either do the smart thing and go to AA and not drive till it's reinstated, or he'll be an idiot and get arrested again, drunk or not; for driving on a suspended license."

Monica nodded. "Looks like we got a scum off the road, for a little while, at least."

The door opened and Alex, Jake, and Cody came in. 

"Told you," Jake said, when he saw Frank.

"What?" Frank asked.

"Alex and Jake went to get lunch," said Cody. "And I was doing some stuff and figured I'd spring you—they got your favorite again—but Jake had a feeling you were here already."

"Sweet & Sour Chicken and Moo Goo?" Monica asked.

Cody nodded. "And don't forget the beef-on-a-stick."

They laughed at Cody's accurate description, and dug in. 

"Yum," Monica said. "You favorites are quickly becoming _my_ favorites, Frank."

"Use the chopsticks," Jake said, handing some to her. 

"I was never good at these," she said, trying them anyway.

Alex and Frank had an easy time with them, but Cody's attempt was purely comical. They all watched as he tried to eat the fried rice with the chopsticks, dropping it all before he raised it to his mouth, over and over again, seemingly oblivious to their snickers. 

"_You_," Jake said, yanking the chopsticks out of his hand, and sticking a plastic fork there instead. "Use a fork."

"What?" Cody said, grabbing them back. "I was just about to master them!" he said, picking up the fried rice, only to once again drop it all before it reached his mouth.


	10. It's Not Delivery Pizza, it's DiGiorno!

Finally the day for Frank's testimony came, and to his relief it was short. He described how he'd pulled out his gun, been stabbed, and left on the floor to die. He told of the few hazy times he'd awoke to see Jay helping him, and that Jay had flipped the car to save them. When the judge asked the Defender if he wanted to cross-examine, the lawyer said no; an answer that received murmurs from the courtroom. Apparently even Capone's own lawyer knew that it was a waste of time to ask Frank anything; Capone was guilty, without a doubt.

"Will the defendants please stand," the judge said. 

Artie and Jay both stood, as one of the jurors handed the judge a piece of paper.

"Arthur Capone, you have been found guilty," said the judge, after a mere glace at the paper. "For armed robbery and attempted murder of a Federal Agent. You are hereby ordered to serve 8-10 years for the robbery. As for the attempted murder of Agent Donovan…" he removed his glasses and fixed a fierce stare at Artie. "It was said that when you found out who he was, you were quite happy that he was your victim. In my book, that conveys intent. You would not let him go, which makes it obvious that you intended for him to die. If he had, that would make this a _murder_ charge, not _attempted_ murder. Therefore, we all here think you deserve the ultimate penalty. For the attempted murder of Agent Donovan—not to mention kidnapping him and Mr. Shaw—you are ordered to serve 50 years."

The courtroom erupted in whispers of surprise—but obvious approval—at the stiff sentence. 

Artie glared at the judge, silently.

"These terms are to be served consecutively, not concurrently." The judge banged his gavel. "Order!"

The room hushed down.

"Jay DiGiorno, you have been found guilty for _attempted _robbery, as was your intention in the beginning of the situation."

Jay hung his head.

"However," the judge went on. "_You_ did not take the hostages, and _you_ did not stab Agent Donovan. Rather, you turned around and tried to _help_ instead, ultimately being the one to stop Mr. Capone, saving the lives of both Mr. Donovan and Mr. Shaw." 

Jay raised his head a little, nodding. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Artie glaring at _him_, now.

"Your penalty, Mr. DiGiorno…" the judge smiled. "Probation for one year. I trust that you won't get into anymore trouble, after this harrowing experience?"

Jay smiled back. "No, your honor, I swear."

The courtroom murmured yet again, happily.

The judge banged his gavel. "Court dismissed."

Frank and his team stood.

"Wow," Cody said. "Artie got 60 years!"

"That's considered life," said Alex. "Since he's nearly 40 I think."

They saw Frank walking towards the front, and followed after him.

"Wait!" Frank called out to the policeman who was taking Jay out. 

When the officer saw who it was, he complied. 

Jay smiled when he saw Frank coming towards him. "Mr. Donovan! I am _so_ glad you're alive!" The statement sounded silly to him, but there was no other way to really say it.

Frank smiled back. "So am I."

Jay laughed, but the officer suddenly took his arm and moved him over as Artie was led past them. 

Artie had a look on his face that would give a person nightmares. He was prevented from saying anything by a shove given by the officer leading him out, propelling him forward, and out the side door. 

Jay sighed, and looked back to Frank.

Frank ignored Artie, smiling at Jay instead. "I wanted to thank you for saving my life."

Jay shrugged, humbly. "I didn't do that, the doctors did. I'm glad they succeeded."

Frank could see a Sergeant beckoning to the officer who was patiently waiting for Frank and Jay to finish their conversation. Frank held out his hand to Jay.

Jay went to take it, but then hesitated, as he was still wearing cuffs. 

"Don't worry, you'll have those off in no time," Frank told him.

Jay nodded, and managed to shake Frank's hand anyway. As he was led out, he turned and smiled again, before disappearing out the door. 

"Caught in the middle."

Frank turned at Monica's voice, to see that she was behind him with Alex, Cody and Jake behind her. 

"Not only were _you_ caught in the middle of the robbery," she continued. "But _Jay_ was caught in the middle of you and Artie."

Frank nodded. "Very true."

They were all quiet as they walked out of the courthouse, until Cody—influenced by his stomach—spoke. 

"Anyone want pizza?"

Frank looked at him, quizzically. "Pizza? At 10 in the morning?"

Cody shrugged. "Seeing Jay made me want pizza."

They all looked at him like he was crazy. "Why?" Jake asked.

"Did you all hear his last name? DiGiorno."

They all laughed at that, shaking their heads at Cody's crazy sense of humor.

"I think I learned something from this," Jake said.

"What's that?" Frank asked.

"I'm using the bank's drive-through from now on. How about you?"

Frank nodded, with a smile. "Definitely. _Most_ definitely."

THE END 

Thank you sooooo much to everyone for the wonderful reviews! People like you make all the hard work worth it! Don't forget to watch the 2 remaining eps of UC on Saturday, March 23 at 8 and 9 EST!


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